Socialism and Property

Abstract

Compared with bourgeois private property, socialist property creates broader opportunities for development of the productive forces, for developing the economic enterprise of millions of people, and for attaining a high quality of life. However, contemporary history has developed otherwise. The capitalist mode of production, which seemed doomed to total disintegration, has in recent decades gained its "second wind," has proven capable of carrying out a scientific-technological revolution, of making quite effective use of its results in all spheres of society's life, and of creating a developed social infrastructure. In our country, on the other hand, stagnation and precrisis phenomena have mounted. Coming up with a scientific explanation of this historical paradox requires, in addition to all else, a comparative analysis of the evolution of property relations in the highly industrialized capitalist countries and in the USSR.